Calgary won't be small. They are drafting a wide spectrum of body-types. That's why I keep pushing the fact that Klapka should get more time in the top 6 - having big, physical players in your top 6 helps a lot. Bennett and Ferland made the Flames a much heavier team (if only Bennett was actually being slotted appropriately). Now the Flames have Klapka, Hozek, Gridin, Bahl, and players like Stocksellus, Phillips, Battaglia, Laing, Jamieson, Suniev, Hurtig, Bell, Lipinski, Ciona, Kuznetsov...
I mean, obviously most of the above won't make it, but some will. More will be drafted. I would be shocked if the Flames draft only smurfs. Now with the team bottoming-out a bit, there is a higher chance of grabbing the actually skilled guys with size in the next couple of drafts.
I agree with CHIPS (EE) - if the Flames have Carolina's record in the playoffs, I would consider it a success. They have been a conender for while - constant playoff team with a few runs. That's all I hope for. Winning the cup is hard. the late 80s teams were damn good and should have won a few cups, but the Oilers were really good, and so was Montreal in 86. It happens. There is no denying - even if they didn't win a cup in that generation - that Fletcher didn't build a contender that entertained us fans.
Hopefully it results in cups. I just hope that Calgary drafts more top-end talent than Carolina has. The Flames already have something in place that Carolina has never had - a quality starter.
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